DHR Health’s Critical Care Unit to address women’s health in Valley

DHR Health has established a Women’s Critical Care Unit that allows specialty physicians to collaborate in a more effective and efficient way.

The goal of the unit is to address and treat more complex issues in areas including gynecological intervention, metabolic disorders and other diseases.

The unit, which has been running for a year now, is located inside the DHR Health Women’s Hospital in Edinburg.

According to Dr. Juan Chavez Paz, director of the Intensive Care Unit at DHR Health, although the unit provides the same services as the main hospital, each physician and staff member is specifically trained to treat a patient in critical condition.

“There are specific nurses that are critical care certified, physical therapy teams, respiratory team, dietitian team that are also certified and educated in intensive care cases,” Paz said, adding that the unit limits the need to transfer a patient to receive care. “The whole team that is taking care of the patient has more training and knowledge.”

The pulmonary and critical care specialist added that the unit is like the intensive care unit, or ICU, at DHR which has a board certified specialist in house at all times.

“The doctor is in-house, there is no delay in our response, there is no wait for the doctor to drive from home,” Paz said.

He added that having a critical care unit specific to women is necessary due to the difference in physiology that requires specialists who focus their efforts in addressing diseases and disorders specific to women.

Paz said that the more common disorders seen in Valley women are metabolic or hemodynamic disorders.

He explained that the unit, which runs on inter-professional care, allows specialists from each department, including labor and delivery, to collaborate and understand the best course of action for each patient.

For Paz, the collaboration between specialists allows them to be prepared for every possibility prior to surgery.

“We all work together and cover every angle that the patient could need,” Paz said, adding that the unit is meant for all critical conditions. “So conditions are from anything starting with metabolic disorders, infections or there could be some situations related for example with the delivery or C-sections.”

He said that DHR Health hopes to incorporate a specialized unit to each department in the hospital.